A Story in Parts
by HemingwayCav
Summary: Three weeks is all it takes to forever change the lives of four people. Love, obsession, and lonliness lead the way. Character death[s] and DannyFlack slash pairing.
1. Beginnings and Endings

Sadly, I do not own most of these characters as they are the property of the braintrust known as CBS and CSI: NY.

Today – 6:53 pm

"Danny? Officer down, officer down," even as he choked out the words Flack knew there was nothing to do, but sit, wait, and wonder if he could have done more, wonder if he had wanted to do more, wonder why he felt so cold . Flack's knees buckled and carried the length of his body down the graffiti coated wall to the hard stained concrete, urine, semen, and blood mingled and coated the air he breathed, laced his tongue with their used scent, some of the blood he knew. Flack's ears buzzed with static and the whispers of an angel, his mind's eye was plastered with visions of a smile and a wink, but his only thought was shouldn't it be officer dead? Officer down gave so much hope and there was none to be found there, at least not for the still and silent body by his feet.

1 Week Earlier – 6:47 am

He stared but the bathroom mirror wasn't giving up any answers, just waves of imperfect glass telling unimaginative stories about the obvious. It registered everything he already knew, two eyes – blue, hair – black, lips – swollen, shoulders – tender, neck – bruised, it spit out those answers, just the facts, things he knew, things he understood, but he needed the why and the how. Why he had done it and how it had happened. Everything Don Flack did made sense, fell within the parameters of ordinary, at least on the surface, until three weeks ago, until last night.

Danny thought he'd never leave and until he did feigning unconsciousness was his only option, not the brave thing to do, not the thing an officer of the NYPD should do, but he remembered a great show once said there is never shame in running when faced with a fight you can't win. He hadn't won that fight and his body let him know it when he sat on the edge of the bed, aching in ways he never had, in ways he never should, he avoided standing up for a moment more knowing pain was waiting to climb and fall along the length of his spine. The Guinness had slowed his reflexes, impaired his judgment, made him vulnerable, maybe it was the whiskey.

The man in the bathroom ran a large hand through the thick untamed darkness on his head and sighed in memory, closed his eyes to invite the scent that still lingered to bring the pictures of last night back to the surface. He knew that more than he wanted the answers he wanted a repeat of last night, a repeat of the weeks past. He'd discovered that beyond the prickly stubble of another man's face there was sweetness that he wanted to dip his fingers in again and again and bring it to his lips dripping so he could drink in it forever. He wanted forever, but he wouldn't, he couldn't, he'd fight it, how could the scrutiny be worth it, what if people found out, not what if but when, he knew she would tell, how would he do his job, would the bond of the Blue Brotherhood stand in the face out flagrant love, his father wouldn't, how would he ever go home again.

The man on the edge of the bed finally stood and suppressed a groan over the new pain, the ache in his ass, but the small smile he let shine through stretching the slight pout of his bottom lip into a smooth arch. Certainly, it aches today and maybe tomorrow, but every time after that it would ache less and excite more. He bent and came back with glasses poised on his face and finally took in his surroundings, the same bed that held so many hourglassed conquests stretched out before him and seemed new in so many ways. His bed was no longer a means to an end, the place where he made gravelly voiced false promises into ears scented by flowers, it now had at least once held something real and his promises to last night's ears would have held true, if only they lived in a different world, a different place. Sure, he'd lost the fight, but show him one person that ever takes on love and leaves unscathed.

3 Weeks Earlier – 8:14 pm

Flack knew that Danny was the last to leave the lab, the last to let the unsolved wait another few hours, and he would find him alone unless Lindsay was hovering, insinuating another ride home from the forever curious CSI. Aiden, now she was a threat he thought to himself, he could have easily fallen under her spell the way Danny had, maybe he had a time or two, but Lindsay, she wasn't anymore than a void filler, a nuisance really. There he was alone sitting at his desk glasses perched on his forehead forgotten while he stared into the black sky lost to a puzzle only he could see, piecing together not just the how or the where, but the why. Why another family had been irrevocably shattered and twisted, why the world was left with yet another void, why another piece of possibility would go unfulfilled. Flack smiled to himself because tonight he would do it, tonight he would tell Danny, tonight he would give it all up and ask him out, no he thought not ask him out, just see if he wanted to get dinner somewhere nice, to talk. Flack felt fulfilled and determined until he sensed sly movement just behind his back and caught the acidic smell of over brewed and cheap coffee tangled with waxy cotton candy like his niece's dollar store lip gloss, he wasn't sure what it was until a strong gust of exasperated air interrupted the silence. Here it comes he thought another desperate attempt to ingratiate. Flack thought if he ignored the woman behind him she just might go away, far away, back to Montana away. It wasn't just her taking up part of Danny's life it was very her existence something about her just bothered him, forced him to drop his usual courteous manner in favor of ignore and condescend. The conversation couldn't be avoided she was clearing her throat to ask a question and then the voice would come, how he hated the sound of her voice. "Flack," she breathed, "what are you doing here?" Flack fixed his mouth to answer praying that his internal filter let him get past this particular obstacle with his gun still holstered and hoped he wouldn't arouse her suspicion "Lindsay - I'm here to see if Danny wants to grab a bite, have a few drinks, sit around, whatever. What are you still doing here, other than fetching coffee?" The last part he said with a nod of his head in the direction of the murky black brew, Danny liked sugar and cream he thought to himself, the less it resembled coffee the better, everyone knew that. "Danny's giving me a ride home, he was worried, he thinks it's too late for me to ride the subway home, I hope it won't be too late for the two of you to eat after he drops me off, it's pretty late now" she grinned and feigned concern in one swift movement, almost happy to deliver a blow to Flack's plans. Flack knew he was being paranoid, she couldn't possibly know his plan or how he felt, but her words though candy-coated had a juvenile braggadocio quality to them, the plain Jane that landed the quarterback. Flack knew his Sig would take care of her smile and round sad eyes, but he restrained himself, the effort visible to anyone that knew him. Flack would play, "Nah, it won't be too late, we're both off tomorrow, you?" He couldn't help but smile as a small hot stream of air escaped through her nose, it seems without enduring her swallowed tones he had his answer. Lindsay's failure spurred Flack on and he moved closer to the room as he made quick work of the short entryway without as much as a word to or from Lindsay.

Danny sat still, a feat for him, his computer had reverted to a static black while he wondered where Flack would be tonight, if he wanted to grab a beer, play a late night game of one-on-one. Danny's mouth bent slightly upward for just a moment until his brow furrowed at the way his mind wandered, it was starting to worry him, one-on-one meant basketball, but he'd let the connotation carry too far and the visual came with it, what concerned Danny was repulsion didn't follow. The struggle was constant, they were friends, they'd always been friends, they always would be just friends, but lately while they talked Danny noticed how blue Flack's eyes were, how pink his lip where and he wondered how soft they must be, how warm his breath would feel against his cheek across the undressed flesh of his chest and back. Danny hated to admit that those late night and early morning thoughts stirred him and he felt like he should flog himself as punishment, instead he touched himself, slowly at first the strokes came with Flack's face in his mind, then faster and hungry, wanting it to be real and he would come in a shout with not Flack escaping from his lips but Don. It would never happen, it just couldn't, mostly because Flack just wasn't into him that way, and he would never risk the ridicule and harassment from the department, his friends, his family. He's never wanted a man never noticed men and often wondered as he rubbed his hand over his own stubble how women tolerated the abrasive feel, he wouldn't like it. He told himself it was a case of post-traumatic stress, hero worship, and whatever else he could come up with, all of it lies. So, he threw himself into Lindsay's obvious attentions, on the outside he seemed interested, but on the inside he was far away from her words and stares. Danny heard the exchange and prayed that Flack would win, he knew taking Lindsay home would mean putting off yet another invitation into her apartment for whatever it is she seemed to want from him. Whatever it was he knew nothing good would come of it and he really couldn't convince himself no matter how much time they spent together that he actually wanted it or her. Danny knew she would do, there wasn't anything repulsive about her and the contrast in their backgrounds was a nice playground, but his heart wasn't in it. Danny heard Flack's final triumph and started packing, not too quickly, anxious never worked to anyone's advantage. Flack's long steady strides where interspersed with quick short taps, Flack walking, Lindsay hurrying to keep up, no matter Flack was there and he had won.


	2. Perspectives

Today – 6:50 pm

Flack watched as Danny's upper body jerked backward then his lower body followed and the air that held him suddenly was gone, Danny went down and then he went still. Flack yelled either no or Danny, long after this day ended all the survivors heard one or the other, never both.

1 Week Earlier – 6:50 am

Flack still stood in the mirror, examining the red splotches along his collarbone, around his neck, and the imprint of large human hands on each of his upper arms when the bathroom door opened inward and slammed his hipbone. Blood trickled when Flack bit his tongue trying to absorb the painful blow, more than that some frantic part of his brain told him if he was silent Danny would simply walk away thinking the door was jammed. Nerve endings in his hip continued to burn he thought possibly in retaliation for being dumb enough to believe Danny would simply walk away from the door believing that a poltergeist had taken up a new haunt in his toilet, his body mocked him. The throbbing would soon be a new bruise one he could add to his growing collection. He knew it had to be Danny opening the door, it was his apartment after all, his bathroom, his bedroom, his bed, but he'd rather it be an armed intruder. He hadn't meant to linger so long in the mirror, he'd meant to make a clean get-away, find some quiet place to think over a hot cup of black coffee or a never-ending bottle of beer. Why couldn't it be an intruder, he knew it was because life was never that simple, never that easy. He could pummel then shoot an intruder, Danny he'd have to talk to, Danny he'd have to kiss, Danny he'd have to take back to bed, sure he wanted it, but that didn't make it right he knew the consequences of getting caught up in something that no one would think was right. He wasn't even sure that he thought it was right, though he knew it wasn't wrong, he didn't know what it was, just that it felt good, felt great, it felt the way the good life was meant to feel. Flack ceased his inner monologue when he realized there wasn't a renewed effort to open the door, he wondered what happened to make Danny stop.

The door wouldn't go any further and Danny stopped trying to get it open instead, he took inventory of his bedroom and noted the clothes that weren't his scattered and strewn on the floor. Danny knew it was too much to hope that Don's passed out body was what had stopped the door from going any further, for a minute he considered getting back into the bed and pretending to be asleep once again, but the chances of that working were slim. Danny knew if he saw Flack there would be unmistakable evidence of what happened last night, evidence other than the careful clenched ass shuffling that was his imitation of walking, his failing attempt to avoid friction between the cheeks of his ass, avoiding pain had been his objective until the door wouldn't open, now a respectable escape was his focus. On the other side of that door stood the evidence that he was a participant, until the door opened and revealed Flack there was only proof that something was done to him, seeing Flack would prove that he had been involved in the doing. He wanted those memories, but he wasn't sure he was ready for the truth, not just yet, not now. Escape captivated Danny for just a minute more until a frown and slight pout appeared, where there once had stood a scared man there now stood a small boy denied his favorite toy. All that was missing to complete the picture was crossed arms and a small stomp to express his displeasure, Flack hadn't moved to open the door.

3 Weeks Earlier – 8:55 pm

Flack and Danny almost collided at the office entrance with Lindsay rapidly approaching in Flack's long legged wake, Danny saw her just over Flack's shoulder. Flack hearing the anxious echoing click clack knew his invitation would have to come fast.

"Hey Danny, after you drop Monroe off do you want to grab dinner, beer, both?" The words fired out of Flack's mouth lacking all the finesse that he'd hoped to muster, he'd wanted the invitation itself to convey the deeper meaning of his words. Flack spent the morning bracing his lean hip against the kitchen counter downing the last bit of instant coffee the icemaker providing the soundtrack to his inner conversation. He was thinking of what to say to Danny, what he came up with wasn't poetry he knew but it was worlds better than the Lindsay induced actuality. The breathing accosted him again from behind, "hey" was Lindsay choked greeting to the two men, "ready Danny, I'll just grab my jacket, I'm starving, you?" Flack blinked and couldn't believe the way Lindsay's body broke so easily that a casual backhand could cause such permanent damage, her eyes stared out at him unmoving and her neck stood at an outrageous angle. Flack's cavalier thoughts were interrupted by a thump on his forearm he focused on Danny and on Danny's mouth moving and forming words then finally resting in a smile. Flack just knew he was going to help him bury the evidence, knowing he'd come up with some clever disposal method for the security cameras.

Danny didn't have a chance to say a word, Flack shot off at the mouth about dinner and beer and before he could answer Lindsay was upon them ready to go and suggesting dinner together once again. Danny had to wonder at the point of her constant invitations, he felt she should have made a move by now, they were adults after all not 8th graders with the Sadie Hawkins dance just around the corner. Danny watched as Flack's bright blue eyes darkened and he had to fight back a laugh because he could only begin to imagine what private horror he'd just inflicted on Lindsay in his head. Whatever it was Danny knew it was good because Flack was still lost to it when Danny said, "ride with us, we'll drop Lindsay off and then head out, okay."


	3. Assumptions

Today – 6:49 pm

He couldn't find a pulse and the air outside was still, no sirens meant no backup, he wiped the blood from his nose and the spit from his face remembering the feel of Flack's hard fist and warm spit challenging the unseasonably cold rain outside. He was in here and Danny knew he had to find him, get him back outside, get him to safety, there was no need to stay, what they had come to retrieve couldn't hurt anymore.

1 Week Earlier – 6:53

Nonchalance was the only approach Flack realized he would have to take his chances the ghost angle wasn't going to work and the white towel just wasn't big enough even to make the effort feasible. Flack grabbed the door and with a hard tug, it finished its inward trajectory with a sharp slap against the metal stop, Flack didn't know what he was expecting he to see, other than Danny standing on the other side of the door, but the sight that greeted him was a big surprise. There was no Danny standing on the other side of the now opened door, instead Danny was sitting naked, save a blue hat, on the edge of the bed trying to get a striped red sock on his foot without bending over any more than was necessary. Flack had to admit to himself it was the biggest what the fuck moment he had seen in a long time and being a cop for the NYPD there were what the fuck moments every day. "Danny? What the hell are you doing?" Flack wanted to bang his head into the nearest wall the minute he said it, knowing that his words were no way to greet the morning after, especially your morning after with Danny.

Just before Danny's tantrum could fully manifest a small breeze from the cracked window unleashed goose bumps all over Danny's body. His first attempt to step into pants proved too painful and a second attempt would have to wait until pants were an absolute necessity. Danny decided that he'd heed the advice of mother's round the world and fight the cold by covering his head, he fished quietly in his closet still unsure what he should do about Flack in the bathroom. Danny decided that the more time that passed without the door opening the better the chance that Flack was actually passed out on the floor of the bathroom, after all he concluded they had massive amounts of liquor last night, at least two beers and one whiskey each, that qualifies seems to qualify as massive when the consequences of your actions could be life altering. The hat just wasn't enough, Danny was still shivering though he knew not all of that was from the early morning cold, some of that was indecision, but socks in his mind would take care of what was actual cold. Sitting he realized was worse that standing, but only the bending once he was down it was fine, but the dilemma was how to get the socks on without spreading his cheeks on the downward motion. Flack's voice stopped him cold and Danny responded in kind, "Don. What the hell does it look like I'm doing." Danny reasoned that Flack was alcohol impaired and he would explain away their respective nudity by saying the strippers had already left. Though, Danny couldn't help but be disappointed that Flack had forgotten last night, because even though he wanted to escape the questions and the possibility that it was a mistake, he'd hoped some tenderness would survive night turning to day.

3 Weeks Earlier – 9:06 pm

Flack began to wonder if she ever stopped fucking talking, did she really believe anyone was listening to yet another anecdote about the way New York City was different from Bozeman, Montana. He had to focus on the soft dirty blonde hair at the back of Danny's head to keep from shouting, "seriously you have cows there and we don't, you're kidding me!" Danny was listening enough to toss a harmless barb her way every so often, but he wasn't listening so much that his eyes didn't meet Flack's every so often in the rearview mirror, Flack wanted to believe it was on purpose, but he knew Danny could just be checking the traffic. He would suggest Cortina for dinner, the River Café would be too obvious, the view of the water, he wanted to ease Danny into the idea, handle him gently, so the candlelight and views of the river might be a bit much, Flack thought Danny would bolt at such obvious advances. Flack was staring out the window but now turned back to see the summer blue of Danny's eyes in the rearview mirror, again their gazes met and again Flack shook it off as coincidence, but he'd keep staring this time just in case it wasn't. Danny was talking, but the words didn't match the pleading in his eyes, Flack did what he thought was the right move, "Yeah, fine with me, another night."

Lindsay's talking never bothered Danny much before, but now he just wanted everything to fast forward, her story about cows or buffalo or some animal was draining and one he'd heard before. Danny figured it had to be the same story he'd heard before, because how many different stories can one person have about cows and wheat fields, no he realized she was talking about hardwood floors and Christmas trees now. Danny wanted to sigh, thinking if wanted to hear about homemade wrapping paper he'd watch Martha Stewart or some cable station that showed you how to thwart an already troubled economy by doing it yourself. Danny stared into the rearview mirror not really seeing the traffic just on their tail, all he saw where Flack's eyes but they seemed to be looking right through him and out the front of the car, Lindsay's talking was causing catatonia. Danny knew he could handle Lindsay's incessant idealized view of her life before New York and he knew just as well that Flack wouldn't have any patience with her recollections and folk tales. Danny shook himself free of Flack's eyes to piece together the question Lindsay just asked, well it was a statement framed as a question, she was trying to lead him towards the answer she wanted to hear, so Danny decided to do the only thing he could do, he decided to lie, "Actually, I'm tired Linds, I'm going home and crashing, that okay with you Flack? If I just drop you back?"


End file.
